1.) Protein Is Your Friend

Try to get one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight — you don't need 300 grams of protein per day.

If you don't cook your own meals or have enough protein in your diet, you're missing out on a fundamental building block of muscle. Start eating more meats — if you are having trouble eating enough calories, eat fattier meats.

2.) You'll Have to Eat More

Similarly to how someone who can't lose weight is eating too much — if you aren't gaining weight you aren't eating enough.

Here's the truth — you aren't eating as many calories as you think you are.

Your body isn't used to eating all of this food, so you may have to force yourself to eat. If you are having trouble eating enough calories, try to pick more calorie dense foods that contain fats. Things like olive oil and fatty cuts of meat will add calories easy.

It's not hard to get 1000 calories out of 8 ounces of 85/15 beef, a baked potato with butter, sour cream, and cheese. The best thing about it is that it's nutritious.

3.) You'll Have to Start Eating the Right Foods, Too

Before you start eating all of the boxed foods you can stuff your face with, you need to remember that your body needs other vitamins and nutrients to perform. You could definitely hit 4,000 calories if you loaded up on taco bell and potato chips, but there's not much of a nutritional benefit to that.

Instead, opt for healthy fats, good sources of protein, healthy carbs, and plenty of fruit and vegetables. 300 calories from a donut versus 300 calories from some tilapia make a huge difference in your body composition.

4.) Load up on Those Carbs

When we think of carbs we think of things like pizza and ice cream, right? Opt for nutritious sources of carbohydrates when choosing what yo eat.

Eating bowls of rice, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal will help you put on weight. Staying away from things like bread, pasta, and junk food is advised.

When I say keep junk food to a minimum, I'm not saying don't eat it. I'm saying that if you choose mostly healthy foods, you can have your cake and eat some too.

5.) Track Everything

Logging your food works wonders for losing weight and gaining weight.

Do you know how many calories you ate yesterday?

Tracking every meal helps you gauge how many calories you need. It helps you keep track of your protein, fats, and carbs, and it helps give you information to make adjustments.

Once you start tracking and get a feel for what you need to eat every day, you can start making adjustments to reach your goals.

Since you know that you burn off calories quickly, don't be afraid to get fat. If you opt for at least 80% of your calories come from nutritious foods, you're not going to simply get fat.

Simply remove "I don't want to get too bulky" from your vocabulary.

6.) Keep Cardio to a Minimum

Cardiovascular health is important, but taking hour-long runs is burning up energy. If you like running, performing HIIT exercises like sprints or running up a hill are best to conserving muscle.

The more cardio you do, the more you'll have to eat. Keep your ticker healthy, but pick your battles.

7.) Don't Forget Recovery

The term "muscles are made in the kitchen, not in the gym" is true. When you lift weights, you're breaking down your muscles and causing micro-trauma.

Ideally, you want to let the muscles you've trained rest for 48 hours. As you eat more calories than you need, your body uses that extra energy to build bigger muscles.

Training three to four days per week is adequate for physique change — it's more important for hardgainers to eat more than it is for them to train more...

8.) Be Consistent

Skipping a workout here or there is fine, but if you want to see real progress you have to be consistent.

You will need to have a fork in your hand, and you're going to have to do it every day.

9.) Get Plenty of Sleep

Remember what I said about getting enough rest? If you aren't getting seven to nine hour of sleep per night, you are shortchanging your gains.

This is the time where your body shuts down and works on itself.

If you're serious about making progress, you're going to have to turn that Netflix off or cut that gaming session short.

10.) Don't Be Afraid to Get Fat

In order to make progress in building muscle, you're going to put on a little fat. If you are skinny and trying to build muscle and not store any fat, that's why you are having the results you are.

Write down what your goal weight is on a piece of paper. Add about 10 pounds to that and that's when you can adjust your calories. So if you want to get to 185 pounds, you won't start dialing back calories until you reach about 195 pounds.

This is when you can start doing more cardio, slowly cutting back calories, and end up with the killer physique you didn't think you could create.

3 Pro-Tips for Extra Calories

While I don't come from the skinny side, I have learned quite a bit over the years in the fitness industry.

The tips I'm about to give you will help you both lose weight or gain weight, depending on your goals.

Logging your food is hands down the best thing you can start doing, aside from making healthier food choices.

I cook the majority of my meals from fresh ingredients, have lost a significant amount of weight, and have never felt better in my life. So when you read these tips, don't think I'm trying to ruin your health.

Eat More Fats

Do you already eat mostly healthy foods? Do you like chicken and rice, beef and broccoli? Next time you make a dish, add some sour cream to the rice, add cheese to some ground beef, or cook some bacon and then cook some salmon in the bacon grease — it's nutritious and very tasty.

Always log your calories, but being heavy-handed with some shredded cheese or try cooking your chicken in some garlic butter.

Know Your Portions

Grab a food scale, measuring cups, and measuring spoons. Just because I am telling you to go crazy with the "good stuff," you still need to track your calories.

Opt for Fatty Meats

Instead of choosing 90/10 ground beef, try some 70/30. Those fats are nutritious and the flavor is outstanding. Try chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.

It's not hard adding a few hundred calories to what you already consume by opting for a fattier meat.